Canadian gold miner Alamos has intersected a new style of higher grade gold mineralisation in zones within the hanging wall of its Young-Davidson mine.
These zones, located between 10 m and up to 200 m south of existing infrastructure and mineral reserves and resources, highlight the upside potential of the deposit, with grades “well above” the current reserve grade of 2.31 g/t, the company says.
“Young-Davidson is a consistent, long-life operation with a long track record of mineral reserve replacement having maintained at least a 13-year mineral reserve life since 2011. With the deposit open at depth and to the west, we expect this track record to continue well into the future as we extend gold mineralisation within the Young-Davidson syenite.
“The new zones being discovered in the hanging wall highlight the significant exploration potential outside of the syenite. This is a new style of higher-grade mineralisation, near our existing underground infrastructure, which has the potential to provide meaningful production upside,” commented CEO John McCluskey.
A total of $12-million has been budgeted for exploration at Young-Davidson in 2024, up from $8-million spent last year. This includes 21 600 m of underground exploration drilling, and 1 070 m of underground exploration development to extend drill platforms on multiple levels.
The majority of the ongoing underground exploration drilling programme will focus on extending mineralisation within the Young-Davidson syenite. As part of the 2024 programme, drilling was also planned to test gold mineralisation in the hanging wall of the deposit where higher grades have been previously intersected.
As of May 1, two exploration drills completed 9 610 m in 26 holes from the 9220 West exploration drift, 9025 East footwall drift, 9305 East transfer, and the 9620 Hanging wall drift.